My Boy

Y'all, Connor isn't my baby anymore. He's not even a little boy- the only thing I can think to say is that he's a kid these days. It's just as bittersweet as I always imagined it would be.

He's still a mama's boy, which does make it more sweet than bitter most of the time. And he has finally, after more than seven years without it, discovered empathy. He realizes that there is a world that exists outside the one between his ears. So when it's bedtime and Chloe is boasting how it's Mommy's night to read to her, Connor quickly retorts that he's glad Dad is reading to him- he doesn't want Dad's feelings to be hurt, and hates to see Chloe act the way he knows he has acted over the past several years towards his dad. He has confided to me that his favorite part of the day is when he snuggles in bed with a parent and we read a book together. I can't think of anything I've ever been told that has made me happier.

The book thing is a huge win for the ol' parents, considering Connor is becoming a gamer. He really loves to play with his Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. So much so, in fact, that we spend a lot of time monitoring how much time he's spending on them, and forcing him to turn them off. And though he's not always quick to comply (don't worry, he gets in trouble), he doesn't do a lot of complaining once the device is off. So somewhere in there he's learning a bit of self-control. Just a bit.


His real passion in life is basketball- playing it and watching it. Intently. He knows everyone who plays for every team, and knows what their jersey numbers are. If I say, "The Lakers won last night," he immediately asks, "What was the score?" as if I can keep that many numbers in my head. So he has learned how to look it up on the ESPN Scorecenter app on my phone. Recently, he and I sat fourth row center at a Grizzlies game. By the end of the warmups, he knew who was going to have a good game and why. And he was right. This is just a dream come true for me and Chip (and a nightmare for Chloe who hates watching sports). We're currently considering mulitple basketball camps over the summer, and Connor is super-excited- despite the fact that he "won't know anyone." The lure of basketball trumps the fear of the unknown.

For some reason all of this just seems terribly grown up to me. Connor seems to have matured so much in just the past four or five months- it's a growth spurt as shocking as when Chloe wakes up unable to fit into yesterday's pants. I suddenly see the young man he's going to become, and in some ways it's very rewarding. But I do miss my baby, just a little bit.